Will of the Heart
by Aishiburu
Summary: They lost the war. They lost their only friend, Kurosaki Ichigo. They thought that they have lost everything, until these two mysterious figures came and gave them a second chance to defeat Aizen Sosouke... By throwing them in the past. Extreme AU, Time Travel, set in the Winter War arc.
1. Prologue

**_Prologue_**

**_Requiem for the Lost Ones_**

Orihime Inoue fell down onto her weak knees slowly and sobbed, staring at the messy red thick pool of blood and lifeless corpses that lay in front of her. The others behind her tried to stay calm but inside, they were just as hurt as she was. Rukia Kuchiki buried her head into her childhood friend's chest. Both were severely injured, but no one could care less about that right now. Sado had his back turned, so did Uryuu. The captains who had survived didn't know what to say. The group that had gone to Hueco Mundo had just returned to a destroyed and real Kurakara Town with severe injuries to aid the Shinigami and defeat Aizen, but they were too late.

When they had returned, they were greeted with a pile of dead captains and lieutenants. Even the strong old Head Captain, Yammamoto Genryuusai, was dead. Those who had survived left to Soul Society, but the rest didn't survive long enough and were left behind. Also a few of the espada and more shockingly, Tosen, one of the traitors, were dead on the ground. Just a few meters from them stood a very hated man, Aizen Sousuke. He was cackling madly with the sly fox beside him, his smile splitting his face in half. The four pillars were destroyed and he had created the King's Key. Aizen left to the Royal Palace and had probably already slaughtered the Soul King by now.

However, what caused a huge breakdown between a group of friends… was the lifeless body of Ichigo Kurosaki laying dead in a pool of thick, drying blood right in front of them. His eyes were pale white and his body wouldn't move. His heart wasn't beating. He wasn't breathing either. His right arm had been ripped off, and his head was bleeding horribly. Scars were all over his body. Half of his neck had been cut, flies gathering around the blood and horrendous rotting body.

Orihime tried to wipe her tears away. She put her shaky hands on the flower pins on her hair -given by a brother she loved- and cried in frustration, "Soten Kisshun! I-I reject!" Her little friends flew and started healing Ichigo. Tears slid down her blistered cheeks. _Please work, please work, please, please, please!_

The others behind her turned to Ichigo's dead body and silently pleaded for him to come back. Ichigo Kurosaki was the person who had formed their friendship in the first place, and if he wasn't there, their friendship would break apart. Rukia clenched her fists and bit her lip. Renji tapped his foot on the ground nervously. Uryuu and Sado impatiently waited while the captains were silent, emotions unreadable.

Nothing happened.

_No! I won't give up, I'll heal him! I WILL heal him! I love him, I have to heal him! _She shook a little, ignoring the fact that the others had given up. A few seconds later, she started to scream. The others were startled by this, and tried to calm her down.

"IT'S ALL MY FAULT! I-if only, I was here much sooner! If only Kurosaki-kun didn't even bother to save me!" She broke down, her powers still activating. _I HAVE TO HEAL HIM!_

Footsteps approached them, and the group flinched, shaky hands on their weapons. Two dark cloaked figures came towards them and Orihime gasped.

"Don't touch us!" She shouted.

The figures didn't seem to care and just stepped closer. Orihime backed away, dragging Ichigo's corpse with her.

"**It's useless, Orihime-chan. The King won't heal, your powers are just too weak. Face it, he won't come back.**" The taller one of the figures snapped at her. Orihime, shocked in realization on what they were talking about and stood up in anger. "I will heal him!" The others hands slipped off their weapons, listening in to the conversation.

"**Hmmph. ****You're so stubborn, just like 'im.**" The tall figure muttered, annoyed. The shorter figure stepped forward. "_I am sorry, woman, but my friend here is right. Ichigo will not heal, now that the evil hollow lord has disturbed his innocent soul._"

Orihime had no clue what they were talking about, and was starting to get discouraged. "N-no, I will heal him! I will heal him! I will get revenge on… on that hateful man!" The others were shocked at her extreme hate. No one had ever seen her this angry before. The figures looked at each other and sighed.

"_Do you really believe that you can save him?"_ The shorter figure whispered silently, just loud enough for the healer to barely hear him. Orihime nodded her head vigorously and the taller figure laughed manically, confusing them. The shorter ignored him and went on. "_If that is true, then we shall give you and your friends another chance. Another chance to defeat the evil hollow lord. We trust you to protect him."_ Orihime and the group looked at the figures in confusion. What were they talking about? Another chance? They were snapped out of their thoughts as the figures started to chant something.

"_**To the hollow, soul, human and King,**_

_**To those in despair,**_

_**To those swollen with pride,**_

_**To those who wonder inside the Kingdom of the Dead,**_

_**To those who no longer have their souls,**_

_**To those who have shed blood just for the King,**_

_**May we have your power which remains?**_

_**As we turn into dust just to see him for another day."**_

After the strange chant, their world started spinning rapidly. The last thing they saw was the two figures pulling their cloaks off to reveal a white pale face and worried eyes before their visions turned black.

"_**We trust you all; we want to see him smile again."**_ The figures whispered quietly and took a last glance at the dead body of a certain orange-haired Substitute Shinigami. The taller figure, with pale white skin and black eyes looked at the shorter, who was wearing sunglasses. "**So I guess this is farewell, eh, Tensa?**" He whispered. The shorter -Tensa- nodded. "_Yeah, I guess. We no longer have any use here, not in this wretched world where no one is loving." _

"…**.No world is loving if they don't have a Soul King who actually cares, stupid.**" The white figure scoffed. **"And that Aizen will realize just how wretched this world really is. I bet he's gonna use Kyoka Suigetsu against himself one day, I swear!"**

"_Haha, yeah..." _Tensa chuckled lightly and smiled sadly, "_It's just too bad we won't live long enough to find out."_ The taller nodded, walking away slowly.

"**Yeah, it's too bad. Farewell, Tensa Zangetsu.**" He sonido-ed away, not leaving the slightest trace of reiatsu behind. Behind him, Tensa was crumbling into dust.

"_Hm. Farewell, Shirosaki. Tell Masaki I said Hi."_ And with that, Tensa was gone, his remains mixing with the blood of the other poor lifeless souls on the ground.

All that was left was the world of blood, filled with dead corpses and silence. Not a soul dared to make a sound; they didn't want to disturb the poor corpses. Besides, this world - they knew - was nothing more than a fake reality that would turn into nothing but a nightmare.

Now, time to travel to the past.


	2. Chapter 1

**_Chapter 1 - Past_**

**_1000 Millennia Before Time Travel_**

**_Battle Ignition_**

In his room, the Soul King cradled the two little babies lying in his arms and smiled sadly. Just a few weeks ago, his beloved wife had sacrificed herself to give birth to the most delightful things in his life- twin baby boys. She had died of childbirth when Shiro, the eldest, came out. The doctor, Unohana Retsu, had barely enough time to deliver Ichigo. Shiro had pale white skin with little tufts of white hair sticking out of his bald little head. His eyes were black with a yellow pupil. He was amazingly stronger than his mother and his strength was equal to his father. His twin, however, was the exact opposite. Ichigo had a loud yet weak cry that woke up the entire Kingdom. He was frail and small, and had to have extra care. The Soul King did not know why his mother wanted the boy to be the heir to his throne.

* * *

><p><em>His beloved wife lay on the white, soft hospital bed, holding his shaky hands. Her voice was croaky, slowly fading away. Tears fell on both of their blistered cheeks.<em>

_"Please, stay! Don't leave us! How can I take care of Masaki, Tensa and these little babies when you are not there?! How can we smile when you are not standing in your place when we take photos?" The poor Soul King cried, his grip on her hands tightening, "I'm begging you, don't go!"_

_She seemed to take no notice of his cries, her free hand slowly ruffling his hair. "So... fluffy..." She whispered, giggling. Then, she turned serious. "Hey, can you promise me something?" The Soul King leaned towards her. "Anything for you, my dear."_

_"When my little Ichigo grows up... I want him to be the Soul King... Protector... Aizen... Kingdom..." Her voice was slowly fading. His eyes widened as she took her last breath... And died. Tears slid down his cheeks. The nurses behind him looked down in guilt._

_He screamed._

* * *

><p>Suddenly, he heard the door creak open, pulling him out of his memories. A young woman's heard popped out. She had wavy brown hair that fell to her shoulders and brown eyes that you would never be tired of staring into. She wore a light pink dress which sparkled in the sun's rays. She resembled his wife so much that it made him want to cry. Masaki Kurosaki, his first and eldest child who had lived with him for more than 200 years, was standing in the doorway.<p>

"Father?" She whispered, her voice like an angel's song.

"What is it, my princess?" The Soul King smiled kindly at her. "Anything wrong?"

Masaki shook her head, and her smile dropped, her face looking pale. "A White Hell Butterfly has come to give us some news." She came inside and walked towards him, giving her hand. A black butterfly perched on her finger, flapping its delicate wings.

"_Aizen Sosouke has sent us a message,"_ The butterfly whispered. The Soul King frowned. Aizen was his brother, the King of Hollows. He had left the Soul Palace when their father had declared that he was not going to be the Soul King. Aizen was furious and killed him, leaving. No one dared to stand up against him. Once, he even tried to kill Masaki and Tensa Zangetsu, the Soul King's only children. "What is the message?" The Soul King demanded, raising his voice.

"_I am declaring war in Soul Palace. I will kill you and your wretched wife's offspring and claim that throne which I will sit on in the future. Beware, brother. This time, my comrades will be stronger. I will show no mercy. And your beloved hollows will become mine. I will be coming to your Kingdom tomorrow at Midnight, so get prepared."_ The butterfly answered, fluttering away from Masaki's finger and out of the shimmering window, leaving a sparkly trail behind. The Soul King paled. He knew how strong the Hollows and his brother were, and if their powers were combined… it would create total chaos.

Abruptly, the Soul King stood up, startling the young girl. "F-father?" Masaki frowned with concern, "Where are you going?" She squeaked as the baby twins were thrust into her skinny hands without warning.

The Soul King turned around to face her and sat on his knees, resting his hands on her shoulders. "Masaki, I trust you to look after this kingdom in my place. When the battle commences, lock all the doors and windows. Do not, I repeat, do not leave any gaps that will let Aizen's pawns in, and no matter who it is, do not let anyone in." He said to her, his voice getting serious. "Look after Tensa, Shiro and Ichigo for me. If you need any help, ask Gin or Yachiru. Do not trust anyone else in the Kingdom, you hear?"

Masaki nodded her head, trying to take it all in. In her mind, she was thinking, '_What is father thinking, trusting the entire kingdom to me? I am but a mere, helpless human with no power and can only to pointlessly shoot weak blue arrows, I cannot do anything if anyone attacks!' _She started panicking, then a thought struck her. She froze, the weaker baby in her arms starting to cry.

"B-but, what if-"

"Should I die, I will leave it all to you. Raise those twins well, and Ichigo shall be the king." The Soul King interrupted. "Now, I must go and prepare my army. I will see you, or maybe not, tommorow." His grip softened as he sighed and walked out the door, a sad smile on his face.

Masaki did not know what to say as she was left alone in her father's room with silence, only the cry of little Ichigo sobbing in her arms. She sighed, cradling babies in her arms.

"Sshh, now. Don't cry, little Ichi, I'm going to keep you safe in my arms, away from that evil so-called Uncle of ours." She began to hum a little tune that her mother used to sing to her and her little brother, comforting the baby a little. The pale baby with white hair didn't budge.

"_Sleep now, little babies, fall into your dreams,_

_Hope you don't get nightmares, not a bug to disturb your slumber._

_Later, you'll wake up, and see my smiling face,_

_The face you loved so dearly, and the scent you would know._

_And the other face you'd hug so much, the soft and charming face,_

_With the scent of butterflies that make you want to play."_

The babies fell back to sleep and Masaki yawned, her heavy eyelids slowly falling. She put her little babies on the bed and rested her head on her tired hands, slowly falling asleep.

The shimmering moon's light fell on her face, stars twinkling and singing her to sleep in her head.

The Soul King, standing outside to huge castle and behind the window of his room, smiled sadly. '_Sorry, Masaki. Sorry, Tensa. I am sorry, Shirosaki, Ichigo. I cannot guarantee you that when you wake up I will be there for you to_ smell_ the scent of butterflies. Farewell, my lovely children.'_ He walked away silently, disappearing into the darkness.


	3. Chapter 2

**_Chapter 2 - Past_**

**_On the Precipice of Defeat_**

Masaki held the two newborn babies in her arms tightly, trying to push through the crowd of people who were panicking inside the castle. When the twins in her arms had screamed in her ear so early in the morning, she woke up in her father's bedroom groggily, trying to block out the terrible sound of crying in her ears. Suddenly, words came shooting to her head. _Mom's dead. Twins born. Aizen Sosuke, the Soul King's brother, declares war. War._

She groaned. Wiping her itchy eyes, she yawned and squeezed the babies in her arms, shouting at them to stop. They just became quiet, falling asleep again for some reason. When Masaki creaked open the gigantic door, a huge wind sped past her. She stood there stock still, trying to comprehend what was happening in front of her eyes and that noise in her ears. She blinked. Hard.

There was a huge crowd of nobles and servants in front of her, running here and there, screaming and panicking. The noise was so loud that she couldn't even hear the loud cries of Ichigo and Shiro in her arms. That was when the story started.

She held the babies in her arms tightly, trying to push through the crowd. She figured that maybe, her father might've told the castle about the war and got them panicking. Finally, Masaki reached the middle. Trying to shout as loud as she could, she said, "**EVERYONE! JUST STOP PANICKING!**"

The whole castle jumped at her voice. They turned to her, quiet. Masaki sighed, relieved. Then, she raised her voice again. "Alright, everyone. I know that it's a little scary that the whole Royal Realm is going to go down, but it's no use just panicking. I've got a plan!"

Murmurs broke out through the whole crowd. Some were whispering about how brave the princess was, some were whispering about how no plan could defeat the army of hollows.

Masaki scowled at this. The babies in her arms started crying and the crowd quietened down again. She raised her voice louder than ever to beat the cries of the children. "You will all split into 4 groups. Group 1 will board up every window, wall and hole so that the army will not be able to get through our walls. Group 2 will shatter every mirror which would lead to the Human World or Hueco Mundo. Group 3 will throw every Hollow in this castle in the dungeons so that they will not get affected by the opponent's hypnotism and join the army. And finally, Group 4 will block out all arrancars that get near to our castle." Instantly, the crowd started working. Hammers, wooden panels, screws, and magic books were now in the crowd. Hollows were getting tied together by chains with thorns and thrown into dungeons. No one argued with her plan, because they knew it was their only chance.

Now, all Masaki had to do was look for: Yachiru, Sado (the most trusted servants in the kingdom), Unohana (their healer), Gin (the crafty Advisor) and Tensa Zangetsu (her younger brother and eldest Prince of the Kurosaki Kingdom). It was 1:00 in the morning now, so she could use some help to gather up the members of the other kingdoms.

Trying to quieten down the babies in her arms, she ran towards her brother's room and banged on the door as loudly as she could. "**TENSA ZANGETSU!** Wake up! It is no time to be mourning someone's death as today, more lives will be taken!" She shouted with a shrill voice. The door opened with a loud creak and a masculine groan.

There, standing in the open doorway, was a slim young teenager- a boy. He had pale skin and there were bags under his eyes. He had short blackish-brown hair. He wore a define black robe-like cloak with a hood draped over his head. You could tell that he had been crying. It was Tensa Zangetsu, eldest prince of the Kurosaki Kingdom.

When he heard the news of his mother's death, he refused to get out of his room. Tensa Zangetsu loved his mother and stuck to her at all times. He was like a mommy's boy, but denied it. They were both good friends, and their mother was the only person he actually showed trust to. On the other side, Masaki liked their father more. Tensa couldn't take the news very well, and was disgusted at the babies, even though he knew that it wasn't their fault.

"_What is it, Masaki?_" Then suddenly, a thought struck him and he remembered about the war their father told him about. "_Oh... Wait- Have you gathered all the kingdoms together yet?_" Masaki shook her head. "No, not yet. Can you help me do that, though? It's quite dark outside, so you should get Hinamori-san to help you- she's just in her room right now. I'll just help with the other preparations." Zangetsu nodded and shunpoed away, getting back his stoic expression. Masaki went off, searching for Sado and Yachiru first.

She knew that Sado was a quiet person, which would make him hard to find. However, he followed orders and loved cute things too. Yachiru was cute, and she loved candy. So Yachiru would probably be in the kitchen, asking Sado to lift her up so that she could get the jar of candy on the top shelf. So Sado and Yachiru were in the kitchen.

Masaki tried to shunpo but tripped over instead. She realized that she was to heavy as she was carrying two babies, so she'd have to walk. She groaned and started the long trip to the kitchen.

On the way, she passed the room where you would go to heal your injuries. It was closed, so obviously Unohana had already went to aid the army and there was no need to tell her to anymore. Masaki also passed Gin's room where people would go to when they needed advice, which was empty. No one would know where the sneaky fox would be at certain times, so she figured that he would be hardest to find.

About 30 minutes later of hard walking, she reached the kitchen. Opening the door, she found Yachiru and Sado standing together at the counter. The pink-head was stuffing candy into her mouth, squealing delightfully. Sado was as quiet as usual, expression unreadable. They turned to her as they heard the door opening. Yachiru immediately squealed and Sado bowed. Yachiru leaped at her and hugged her legs.

"It's Cookie! Yay!" She squealed Masaki sighed. "Is it time, princess?" Sado asked. Masaki nodded her head.

"Come on, we have to look for Gin. Unohana's helping the army and I've sent Tensa and Hinamori to gather the other kingdoms. I've got the kingdom protected. War is starting anytime soon." She frowned. Yachiru and Sado nodded. Suddenly, they felt a snakey presence. They turned around to face it.

It was Gin Ichimaru, their adviser. A threatening smile split his face in half, his silver hair glistening in the light. He loomed over them like he was going to bite their heads off. He bowed. "Ah, hime-chan. You are so calm at times... Now, come on. We have to go." Masaki followed his lead to the meeting room, little Ichigo in her arms crying quietly and Shiro opening and closing his mouth like a goldfish, bored. Sado looked scared half to death, but followed them nonetheless. Yachiru squealed endlessly, holding tightly onto the princess' legs.

All was quiet in the Kurosaki Kingdom, everyone doing their jobs and not complaining.

* * *

><p>On the other side, Tensa Zangetsu was walking in the dark with Hinamori Momo- one of the trusted slaves. She had her black hair tied into a bun inside a cloth. She was smiling, happy that she could be of use to the Kurosaki Kingdom. Hinamori was a shinigami but came from Rukongai and was sent to the Kurosaki Kingdom after being trained by Hitsugaya Toshiro, a shinigami from the Kuchiki Kingdom. She held her Zanpakuto tight while chanting the incantation to shoot fireballs and light the way so that Zangetsu could see where he was going. "Snap, Tobiume!" She cried out. Two fireballs shoot up in the air and lit the dark.<p>

Currently, they had collected the Human Kingdoms, which were the Quincy and the Petal Kingdoms. Ryuuken Ishida, Kanae Katagiri, and Yhwach of the Quincy Kingdom and Sora Inoue, Tatsuki and Chizuru trailed behind them. They were silent, all thinking about the war.

Zangetsu headed towards the Kuchiki Kingdom. It was a grand, white tower with sakura trees and hedges cut to look like bunnies and a mascot of the Kingdom called 'Ambassador Seaweed'. There, standing in the lawn was the stoic Ginrei Kuchiki, his son Sojun Kuchiki and Yammamoto Genryuusai, their advisor. They had expected for someone to come and collect them, so they came out extra early. They too, were quiet. Those who lived for a long time in the Royal Realm would've known about how innocent and cute the Aizen Sosuke used to be, how he changed, how he fell so low.

They followed on and found the Shihouin Kingdom with Yoruichi Shihouin and Soi-fon to already be behind their backs, as stealthy as usual.

Everyone was quiet on the way back.

* * *

><p>In the meeting room, no one talked. They had been sitting there for 4 hours straight with the sound of the babies crying. Everyone was tense. The battle had just started when Zangetsu's trail had just barely managed to come in the castle and board up the door. Hollows were clawing the doors to the dungeon and people were defending the castle. No one in the meeting said anything. Yachiru had fallen asleep. Some had tears falling down their cheeks. The rest stayed quiet, thinking about how their realm would be affected. Masaki looked over to her smallest brothers.<p>

Suddenly, they all jumped as they heard a loud scream. A scream that sounded like their beloved Soul King of the world.


End file.
